The Union of Peanut Butter and Jelly

The Gifted Sorceress

The very next day, Caddaric and Aimee, along with two of their friends, Athena, and Apollo, left the Jelly kingdom for the Ice Cream Kingdom. After a whole three-day journey, the four finally arrived, and they took out the map and followed the directions to the home of their unknown friend. Once they had completed a half-day journey through the Peppermint Forest, they finally reached a fine house with a large garden in the middle of a meadow overlooking the Chocolate Mountains. As they came up towards the front gate, the small group saw a robust young woman with long red hair, bright blue eyes, and fair skin who appeared to be a little bit younger than Athena harvesting fresh herbs. "Prince Caddaric and Princess Aimee, I presume," the young woman said in a sweet angelic voice as she walked up to the royal couple and opened the gate. "I've been expecting you, as well as your friends, please come in and make yourselves at home."

The small group then followed the mysterious woman into the house, and when they entered the house, they saw that it was even more beautiful on the inside than it was on the outside. The house appeared as if it had been made from gold and marble. Every room was outfitted with comfortable and beautiful pieces of furniture and decorated with knickknacks and works of art worldwide. When the woman returned with a tray of tea and homemade treats, everyone sat down in the parlor and enjoyed the refreshments. "I see you received the letter I sent you a few months ago, and you used the hint I gave you to make the map appear so you could find me," the woman said as she poured and served everyone a cup of tea.

"You are the one who sent me the letter informing Caddaric and me about the lies that Pelmazo was spreading?" Aimee asked. The young woman smiled and nodded. "But why did you hide the map with invisible ink on the back of the letter?" asked Aimee. "If you didn't receive the letter and it had ended up in the wrong hands, I highly doubt that they would have been able to figure out how to find the map with my instructions," the woman cleverly answered. "However, I can guess that you are wondering what my name is?" she asked the royal couple. "You are indeed correct, miss," Aimee answered. "For Caddaric and I would like to know the identity of our newest friend and ally."

The young woman gave the two lovers a warm and friendly smiled and answered. "My name is Celestine," replied the woman, much to Athena's surprise and shock. "Are you the same Celestine, the healer and sorceress who was blessed by the goddesses Venus, Psyche, and Minerva at birth?" Athena asked, somewhat shocked. "Why yes, I am," Celestine answered as she prepared herself a cup of tea. "The blessings of Venus and Psyche have allowed me to see the true hearts and souls of others, and I can see whether or not two lovers are soulmates or not. Luckily, I am sitting near two royal soulmates and equal intellectuals at the moment. While Minerva's blessings have allowed me to be very creative, wise, and intelligent."

Both Caddaric and Aimee smiled at Celestine's declaration that they were indeed soulmates and that they, along with their friends, were her intellectual equals. "So you are not only a mortal blessed by three goddesses at birth, but you are also a healer and a sorceress?" Apollo asked rather curiously as Celestine passed everyone a plate of homemade treats. "Yes, I am one of the last of a long line of healers and sorceresses. Generations of mothers teaching their daughters the secrets and the healing abilities of nature and passing down centuries of knowledge on spells and potions," Celestine explained. "However, in my case, I was taught by my grandmother rather than my mother, since she skipped the generation, which means that she can't do magic."

"Your mother can't do magic?" Aimee asked, somewhat surprised at the revelation. "No, she can't, and so when my grandmother died, she passed everything, included her place on the Council of Magic, down to me instead," Celestine said. "However, my mother is still trying to prove that she does have magic when it is clear that she does not. The last time I caught her trying to brew a potion, she almost came close to setting the entire house on fire, and I had to show her that she had made a form of poison rather than a healing potion."

After Celestine had finished speaking, Caddaric took out the empty vial from his pocket and handed it to her. "Celestine, do you recognize this vial?" Caddaric asked as Celestine stared at it in shock. "Our informants found it at the well where the plague that has been ravaging both Aimee's kingdom and my own started a few months ago."

Celestine immediately grabbed the vial from Caddaric, and after she had given it a good look, she said. "I've been trying to track down the fraud who stole this for weeks—combined with the fact that I've also been working both night and day creating the antidote that my grandmother had developed years ago in the same amount of time."

The small group looked at Celestine, completely shocked and stunned at the words she had spoken. "You know what was in this vial, and you knowhow to create the antidote?" Aimee asked Celestine, somewhat surprised at her claim. "Yes, I do know what was in the vial, and I do know how to make the antidote," Celestine answered honestly. "The antidote was one of the many potions and recipes that my grandmother taught me while I was growing up since it was her creation, and it did help her save the kingdom."